Bridgerton star proves a big hit at boxing gym
Bridgerton star Rege-jean Page was “charming” as he took boxing lessons in Bath while filming the hit show, according to the man who trained him.
Rege-jean, who plays Simon Basset the Duke of Hastings in the Netflix drama, spent some time in the city while filming took place in 2019.
In the series, Simon is a keen boxer and spars with professional boxer Will Mondrich, played by Martins Imhangbe, in several episodes.
To make sure his portrayal was as realistic as it could be, Rege-jean trained hard for the role.
While in Bath for filming he got in touch with Tom Crudgington, who co-runs Body Development based on Windsor Bridge Road.
Mr Crudgington has 30 years of experience with Thai boxing, MMA (mixed martial arts) and karate which he has coached to international standard and trained Rege-jean for four sessions in 2018.
He said: “His people got in touch with us and asked me if we could train him while he was filming in Bath.
“I have worked with celebs before like Spencer Matthews and Josie Gibson so wasn’t phased and we arranged to meet for a trial session.
“We had a little session called ‘punch out’ which is a boxing based fitness session and he loved it.”
Mr Crudgington said that Rege-jean had already had some boxing training but wanted to learn more.
Mr Crudgington, who has coached at an international level, said: “He wanted to learn from me what it was like to take a punch and deliver one - for reactions.
“He was really dedicated to learning it all and was a professional through and through, never late for sessions and super polite.”
Over the following sessions, the pair worked together on boxing and Mr Crudgington said Rege-jean was a “natural”.
He said: “He’s a very good looking chap according to the ladies at the gym and he was truly charming.
“He had such a way about him and carried himself really well, a natural.
“A good confident chap and I’m sure he’ll go on to be extraordinarily successful after making such a big mark in Bridgerton.”
Mr Crudgington said he’d seen clips of the show but not yet viewed the whole thing saying he was excited to see the fight scenes.
He said: “He was so eager to learn all the different parts of boxing, not just physical but the psychological and emotional mindset fighters have to get into. He was so thorough and it was a really pleasurable few sessions, just a phenomenal guy to work with.”
Netflix has yet to confirm a second season of the show, which has had 65 million streams.